Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Dan&LJ RTW
"Hello, welcome to our hotel. We can arrange many things for your convenience, travel tickets, city tours, restaurant & laundry............also, please use our gun shooting service."
We were given a hearty welcome by the manager at our Saigon hotel.
SAIGON
From our previous journies to and through Cambodia, we were not overly excited about the 8-10 hour bus trip over the Vietnam border to Saigon. This proved to be totally unfounded as, to our amazement, we stepped aboard what can only be described as a 'coach'. It appeared that we even had a seat EACH.
The journey to the border was another chance for us to gaze out at the magnificent scenery of Cambodia, passing through numerous villages and watching life go by as it would everyday. We reached the border and we're accepted into the country with no problems and then had just another 2 hours before reaching the city of Saigon, now renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
The city is a very cosmopolitan place and seems to have coped with the years of warfare and economical crisis with prideful grace. Saigon was the former capital of the South & was the main base for the American military until it fell in 1975 and Vietnam was united under the government of Hanoi.
The French influence here is very evident, owing to their colonial rule up until 1945. Many street names still sport their French 'Nom' & French is the secondary language here. We have to eat our words from our Pondicherry experience in India, as the people here are friendly, welcoming & happy & the Parisian feel to the tree lined boulevards give Saigon the romantic feel it is famed for.
Obviously the American war is still very evident all around and the main sights in the city are based on it. We of course couldn't visit without taking at least a couple of them in and the first we headed for was the War Remnants Museum. A truly shameful, shocking & candid account of the events of the war. It is very difficult not to emerge full of anti-american sentiments and it's amazing how the people of Vietnam seem to hold no resentment to Western faces, after all this is something that only occured 30 odd years ago. Lj had to leave mid way through the tour and couldn't face going into some of the more gruesome sections. We saw numerous visitors crying as they made their way around the exhibits. What is hardest to understand, is that the images on display are not from the latest Hollywood war flick, they are of real life, recording real crimes that were carried out by human beings. It seems man has learnt nothing - you only have to look at Iraq.
On a lighter note, our next stop was the Reunification Palace, home of the government of South Vietnam until 1975. Walking around the palace, it is quite clear that since the city fell in the mid 70's, interior decorating has not been high on the list of priorities. It has been preserved exactly as it was and the place feels like one of Dr Evil's secret 'lairs', complete with secret doors, private escape bunker & heli-pad, all that was missing was a pool containing "sharks with frickin laser beams attached to their heads"!
The next day, continuing our morbid war exploration, we took a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels, the underground network used by the VietCong guerillas during the conflict. We were told on arrival that sections had been widened for tourists so without trepidation we went underground. Jesus, God, how wrong could we be!!! We basically had to crawl on our hands on knees in absolute darkness & swelteringly stuffy heat through 100m of tunnels that a badger would struggle with. At one point the person at the front shouted back that he'd reached a dead-end and we needed to turn back. "DEAD-END??!" we all screamed in panic. Now neither of us are what you would term 'claustraphobic', but for a brief moment we were both cacking ourselves on the verge of a complete panic attack. It wasn't pleasant, but at least we experienced it. On the plus side, there was a firing range where Dan got his hands on an AK47 to remedy his shot nerves.
On top of all the war sightseeing, we also did all the usual walking around the market and sampling street food etc. Saigon really is a fantastic city and as our first stop in Vietnam, it left us both with high hopes for the rest of the country.
NHA TRANG
After being away from the beach for an entire week, we had no other choice but to head directly for the next one available.
Nha Trang is a charming, beach town with a fine stretch of sand and crystal clear waters. It is easy to see why Vietnam is fast rivalling Thailand as a tourist destination.
We indulged in the usual luxuries of sun, sand & sea, we ate good food and had the 'ocasional' beer. To break up all the lounging, we took a boat trip which toured the 4 surrounding islands, where we took advantage of the fantastic snorkelling & the free booze. Dan had a great time amusing himself splashing about in the sea and jumping off the roof of the boat all whilst at the same time developing an affliction not before seen on his body....a suntan!
QUANG NGAI
Quang Ngai is not on the tourist loop whatsoever, but our main reason for stopping here was to visit the nearby Son My village, scene of one of the worst atrocities of the war, the My Lai Massacre. Fairly morbid again, but we both felt we should see it. In March 1968, american GI's flew into the sleepy farming village under direct orders to "leave none alive". What followed was the brutal murder of 504 men, women & children and the total destruction of the village itself. Today, in its place, stands a memorial garden featuring the original foundations of the houses that once stood there, each with its own plaque listing each families losses during the massacre. Another shameful reminder of the american government's attitude towards civilian life in Vietnam. It has been proved many times that the village had no military involvement in the war whatsoever, but a high body count, they thought "makes good press back home".
The 12km drive itself out to Son My village, was only made possible courtesy of Hawk 5, a similar standard of machine to Hawk 4, but this time with no front braking facility whatsoever. Even so, it enabled us to explore the surrounding countryside which was again jaw droppingly fantastic. It looks exactly as you would imagine from the movies, and it's difficult not to expect helicopters to rise from behind the mountains on the horizon. Spooky, but awe inspiring.
Our first 2 weeks in the country have been superb, such a beautiful & cultured place. Only half way through though, roll on the next 2 weeks.
Will update again soon.
Lots of love, Danny & lj xx
- comments